The Future Of What Podcast
A Podcast and Radio Show About the Music Industry
Founded by Music Biz President, Portia Sabin as a way to educate musicians on the realities of the music business, The Future of What Podcast has become a forum where the most significant voices in our industry discuss important issues of the day. Tune in as she hosts important industry figureheads and innovators alike in exciting discussions on where the music business is headed next!
April 15, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #250 — Angry Mob Music’s Marc Caruso Addresses What Indie Publishers Need
Independents make up 40% of the publishing industry, and yet, they struggle to leverage deals. Why? It all comes down to industry fracturing that is preventing the emergence of their collective voice. Angry Mob Music CEO, Marc Caruso touched upon this in his Billboard op-ed, “Why It’s Time for Indie Publishers to Get Angry,” where he highlights how the collaborative environment of the indie publishing space makes rallying together for change an easier and more organic process.... Listen
April 8, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #249 — Girlilla Marketing’s Jennie Smythe on the Evolution of Digital Marketing & Female Representation
Jennie Smythe, CEO of Girlilla Marketing, not only brings on unique & interesting clients, ranging from local businesses to well-known actors, but has proudly ensured her agency remains female-led throughout the 17 years she has been running it. With her tenure as a woman in both the music and digital marketing industries comes a great deal of lessons imparted onto her – thus, she decided to compile them all into a memoir. In this episode, we dive into Smythe’s journey that led to her memoir,... Listen
March 25, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #248 — Marketing In The Live Event Sector With Nederlander’s Jamie Loeb
The financial loss our industry faced when touring came to a halt during COVID-19 has brought attention to the importance of the long glossed over live sector. From here, NIVA (the National Independent Venue Association) was born, where Jamie Loeb, SVP of Marketing for Nederlander, worked tirelessly to help secure the biggest arts grant program in history from Congress – $16 billion of aid used to keep promoters, festivals and venues afloat. In this episode, we speak with Loeb on her work at NIVA &... Listen
March 11, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #247 — How The Music Leaders Network Empowers Female, Trans & Non-Binary Music Executives
The Music Leaders Network exists to establish a network of underrepresented female, trans & non-binary music executives and support their industry careers. In our latest podcast, we speak with Music Leaders Network co-founders Remi Harris & Tamara Gal-On about the organization’s origins, its latest UK cohort & expansion into Nordic countries, the changing landscape of DEI initiatives in 2025, and so much more!... Listen
February 25, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #246 — Music Biz In Atlanta: Discussing the City’s Thriving Music & Tech Culture with Shachar Oren
With the Music Biz Conference coming to Atlanta for the first time this year, we’re continuing our series of interviews with local executives to learn more about the city’s thriving music & entertainment business scene. This month, we spoke with Atlanta-based Shachar Oren of a media technologies venture capital firm, Sound Media Ventures, on his experiences in the city at the crossroads of music and technology. Tune in for his perspectives on why Atlanta is the perfect place to bring our Annual Conference,... Listen
February 18, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #245 — New Mental Health Study from MusiCares & Amber Health
The music industry’s high-stress and ever-changing nature often leads to the development or exacerbation of mental health issues for artists & professionals alike. Particularly since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, music & research organizations have looked to study the effects being in this industry has on its workforce and develop resources to best support their needs. A new study from MusiCares and Amber Health seeks to look beyond the need for mental health resources and instead analyze how access to these resources impacts those who receive them.... Listen
February 11, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #244 — Maintaining Ethics in AI-Generated Music
Generative AI has taken all creative industries by storm over the last few years, and the technology’s rapid adoption has already led to major headaches for the music industry. AI-developed “songs” have flooded streaming services, being used by bad actors to siphon royalties from hard-working artists and creating problems for music discovery. Jen, founded by tech entrepreneur Shara Senderoff, is an AI-driven creative platform that seeks to mitigate these ethical issues by putting artists’ needs &... Listen
January 28, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #243 — Music Biz in Atlanta: Tobago Benito of DBS Sounds!
The Annual Music Biz Conference will take place in Atlanta for the FIRST TIME in 2025, gathering more than 2,200 global music professionals in a vital music hub city for four days of educational & networking opportunities to help inform the industry’s trajectory forward. This month, we’re kicking off a special series of interviews with Atlanta-based music & entertainment executives to learn why it is the PERFECT place to bring our Annual Conference and all the things that make Atlanta’s music industry so special.... Listen
January 15, 2025 – The Future of What Episode #242 — The State of Music Publishing in 2025
The past decade has seen a vast uptick in the importance of the music publishing sector. Publishing rights now account for roughly 30-40% of rightsholder revenue, thanks in part to both the adoption of consistent digital revenue streams and major investments from the financial sector that have bolstered the value of music catalogs. In our first podcast of 2025, we talk to Reservoir Media President & COO, Rell Lafargue about the evolution of the music publishing sector,... Listen
December 16, 2024 – The Future of What Episode #241 — Music & Tech’s Trajectory In The Year To Come
2024 was yet another transformative year for the music industry, bolstered by the widespread embrace of AI integration, challenges to the cornerstone that DSPs have become, and maturing integrations in gaming & VR. In our final conversation of 2024, we speak with Vickie Nauman of CrossBorderWorks about how as music consumption becomes more passive, more interactive experiences enabled by exciting new tech may define the music industry in the year to come!... Listen
